Information, literacy

BOCCC hear library strategic plan and information vs. intelligence in emergency management

The Board of Carbon County Commissioners (BOCCC) were given a preview of the Carbon County Library System’s (CCLS) strategic plan during their January 19 meeting. 

Along with hearing about the system’s three year plan, the commissioners also spoke with Lenny Layman, Carbon County Emergency Coordinator, about trusted sources of information.

Strategic Plan

CCLS Director Jacob Mickelsen appeared before the commissioners on Tuesday to present the system’s three year plan from 2021 to 2024.

“We had the opportunity to review this with our liaison, Commissioner Moore, and I just wanted to share it with the whole group. It took us about a year but we have a new strategic plan,” said Mickelsen. “We try to keep in mind what are called ‘The Five Laws of Library Science’ that were created in the 1930s and they’re really kind of a nice simple overview for what a library was then and they’re still true.”

The Five Laws of Library Science were first proposed by Shiyali Ramamrita Rangathan, a librarian and mathematician from India, in 1932.

The First Law of Library Science states books are for use. While, at one time, books were chained to prevent their removal from the library with an emphasis on their storage and preservation. Under Rangathan’s first law, while the preservation of such material was important it was more important to promote use and thereby provide value to the items. 

“Every reader his or her book” is the Second Law of Library Science and refers to a librarian’s responsibility to serve a wide variety of patrons and to acquire material to fit a variety of needs. It also requires that librarians not judge what specific patrons decide to read and should respect that they have different tastes.

The Third Law of Library Science, “every book, its reader”, means that even if material appeals to only a small demographic it still has a place in the library.

Saving the time of the user is the Fourth Law of Library Science and means that libraries should be organized so that patrons can easily locate the materials they want.

The Fifth Law of Library Science is “a library is a growing organism” and speaks to the dynamic nature of the system and that it should never be static. 

“We want to focus on our libraries as community centers, which in many ways they already are, as well as promoting the flexibility of our organization and the health of that organization,” Mickelsen said.

“The library is a well-oiled machine and really seems to be running well and meeting the needs of the communities, and particularly during these pandemic times where you have people who have utilized it and utilized your services,” said Commissioner Sue Jones.

Information vs. Intelligence

Appearing before the board, Layman stated that he had been in conversation with both Jones and Commissioner Byron Barkhurst about concerns over when information is put out and what sources to trust.

“When I send anything out, I think of it as a bullet in a gun, really, that if you pull the trigger you’re responsible for that bullet wherever it goes and whatever it does. Same thing with information and with intelligence. As you share it, it’s not just a one way street,” said Layman. “You’ve got to make sure that the information you’re sharing is credible, comes from credible sources and the people that you’re sharing with actually have a need, a reason, for getting that information.”

According to Layman, he had a short list of sources from whom he shared information related to the Office of Emergency Management. Those included; the Wyoming Information Sharing Platform, the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation, the Wyoming Information Analysis Team, the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security and the National Weather Service.

“I’d like to thank Lenny for going through this process and educating all of us. I’m a process person,” said Jones. “There’s a process and to deviate from the process … can either harm you or help you depending on how you look at it but in the times we live in this process should be followed closely.”

The next meeting of the Board of Carbon County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. on February 2 at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins.

 

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